Ian Cowie was named Consumer Affairs Journalist of the Year in the
London Press Club Awards 2012. He has been head of personal finance at
Telegraph Media Group since 2008, having been personal finance editor
since 1989. He joined the paper in 1986. He is @iancowie on Twitter.

Experts have also repeated warnings that pensioners who choose to exercise new rights not to buy a guaranteed income for life in the form an annuity but instead leave their funds invested, with the aim of living off dividends, must be careful their capital does not expire before they do.

“This is also broadly equivalent to an escalating annuity linked to the Retail Prices Index (RPI) at age 65, a sensible choice for those needing to maintain the spending power of their pension income over time.”

However, because individual pensioners’ income drawdown levels can only be reviewed at 12-monthly intervals, those already in drawdown before March 26 – or due for review before then – may have to wait up to 14 months to boost their income.

Andy Bell of AJ Bell explained: “Individuals with a review due on March 25, 2013, will not benefit from the uplift until March 25, 2014.

“Once again the needs of pension savers have been put to the back of the queue. It would have been simpler, and better for pension savers, to just allow pension providers to disregard the reduction from 120pc to 100pc of GAD factors introduced in 2011.”

How very true. But look on the bright side; jam tomorrow beats no jam at all.